California lawmakers this week took a strong stance against potential immigration policies of President-elect Donald Trump, who on the campaign trail called to increase deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. A series of bills introduced in the state legislature aim to provide additional resources and protections for immigrants.
The legislation proposed this week would reduce coordination between law enforcement agencies and federal immigration officers and limit information sharing, restrict immigration enforcement at certain public facilities and provide resources for those in deportation proceedings.
Bardis Vakili, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, said the measures send a message to the incoming administration.
"The strength of these bills and the number that are coming in a short amount of time, I don't think there's any other way to read it other than a response to the threat of a witch hunt against immigrants in our community," Vakili said in a phone interview.
Sen. Ben Hueso, (D-San Diego), said the measures were a sign of support for immigrants in California, including those living in the country illegally.
"We will do everything in our power to protect them from unjustified deportation," the senator said on Monday according to a news release. "In California we embrace people of all walks of life who work hard and contribute to our economy and that won’t change now."
SB 6 by Hueso would provide state funding for legal services to people facing deportation who don’t have a lawyer. ACLU's Vakili said the measure would ensure "fairness in the system."
“If the law requires that you should be deported, having a lawyer only ensures that you get a fair shot, and if you lose your case, you still are deported," Valkili said in a phone interview.
Similar to Hueso's bill, a measure proposed by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, (D-Alameda) would create immigration law training centers on the state's dime.
SB 54 by Sen. Kevin de León calls on schools, hospitals and courthouses to draft policies that would limit immigration enforcement on its grounds. It also restricts in some circumstances agencies from sharing information with federal officials about a person's immigration status.
In a news release on de León's website, the senate president pro tem indicated the legislation's intention was to "freeze out ICE," which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Additionally, SB 29 aims to phase out the use of private detention facilities and AB 21 bars public universities and community colleges from releasing citizenship information about students.
A message for the San Diego County Republican Party seeking comment was not returned.
More than a quarter of Californians were born outside the United States — the largest immigrant population of any state in the nation. In City Heights, the foreign born population is estimated at more than a third.
